The Best Amazon Alexa Commands

A familiar situation: You are gifted a brand-new Amazon Echo. You have heard from friends and family about all the cool things this device can do, and you are excited to see what all the fuss is about. You plug in the device, it boots up and you connect it to your home network.

And there it sits, patiently waiting for you to ask it something.

You then realize that you are not sure what to ask it. We are here to help. Below are a compilation of the best Amazon Alexa commands from around the internet, curated and tested to work by those of us here at Hometoys. We hope this list is a good introduction to the fun and useful things Alexa can do, or a way to expand the list of things for which you already use Alexa. Shout out to everyone at The Ambient, Cnet, Komando, Beebom, and Tom’s Guide who have also put together some great lists of Alexa commands in their own right and provided inspiration for the list we have compiled.

Everyday Household Commands

Here are the commands that we at Hometoys use every day, and are absolutely essential to getting the most out of Amazon Alexa.

Timers and Alarms

Command: “Alexa, set a timer for [xx] minutes.”

Command: “Alexa, how long is left on the timer?”

Command: “Alexa, stop the timer.”

You can also give each timer it’s own name, which becomes particularly helpful if you set multiple timers. Alexa can update you on a timer based on it’s name. Example:

Command: “Alexa, set a [xx] minute [outdoor sprinkler] timer.”

Command: “Alexa, how much time is left on the outdoor sprinkler timer?”

Command: “Alexa, set an alarm for [time].”

Command: “Alexa, wake me up every day at [time].”

Command: “Alexa, wake me up at [time] to [music genre, artist, or radio station].”

Media Information

Command: “Alexa, what is the IMDb rating for [TV Show/Movie]?”

Command: “Alexa, tell me about the movie [insert title of movie].”

Command: “Alexa, who stars in [TV Show/Movie]?”

Alexa Control for Fire TV

Amazon has also built Alexa into their Fire TV line of products, including the the Fire TV Stick, Fire TV 4K, and the Fire TV Cube. The following commands can be used with the voice remote bundled with these devices, or if there is an Amazon Echo device nearby while using these Fire TV devices, simply by asking Alexa by voice alone. Try the following commands to easily control your Fire TV by voice.

Command: “Alexa, watch [TV Show/Movie].”

Command: “Alexa, open [Name of App].”

Command: “Alexa, pause.”

Command: “Alexa, fast forward [xx] minutes.”

Command: “Alexa, next / previous episode.”

Command: “Alexa, turn the volume down on the [name of Fire TV device].”

Command: “Alexa, show me [movies/TV shows] with [name of actor/actress].”

Media Control with Third Party Devices

Sonos

For those with Sonos devices, you can install an Alexa skill that will allow you control music played on most current-generation Sonos devices. Once completed, use the following command to play the music directly from Amazon Alexa:

Command: “Alexa, play [any combination of music commands above] in the [Sonos device name or room].”

Command: “Alexa, volume [xx] on the [Sonos device name or room].”

Command: “Alexa, repeat the song in the [name of room].”

If you have a Sonos Beam, the following commands are also available:

Command: “Alexa, turn on the TV.”

Command: “Alexa, turn it up.”

Logitech Harmony

One of the best ways to control the myriad of devices (and consequently, remote controls) under and around your television is through the Logitech Harmony Home Hub system. If you have adopted this system of control for your living room or home theater, Amazon Alexa has a skill to remove the remote control from the equation entirely. By linking the Logitech Harmony Alexa Skill to your Echo device, Alexa can control nearly every aspect of your television viewing experience. Use the commands below to get started.

Command: “Alexa, turn on [device name or Harmony Activity].”

Command: “Alexa, turn on [channel name].”

Command: “Alexa, change channel to [xx].”

Command: “Alexa, mute the TV.”

Command: “Alexa, turn off the TV.”

Command: “Alexa, pause Netflix [or any VOD service].”

Command: “Alexa, turn up the volume.”

Communication

Alexa also has useful communication features, including phone calls and intercom functionality if you have multiple Echo devices throughout your home. Try these commands to utilize Alexa as a communication device!

Phone calls:

Command: “Alexa, call [name of contact].”

Command: “Alexa, answer call.” (incoming calls).

Command: “Alexa, hang up.” (ongoing calls).

Command: “Alexa, play messages.”

Intercom:

Command: “Alexa, drop in on [name of room].”

Command: “Alexa, announce [message].” (will play message on all echo devices on network)

Shopping

As you can imagine, Alexa would not be an Amazon product without the ability to shop on Amazon! The following commands should help you get started shopping on Amazon with nothing but your own voice. Something to keep in mind, Amazon will often run promotions that give you additional discounts on items sold on Amazon if you order them through Alexa. Hometoys recommends Slickdeals.net to discover when these promotions are taking place. Or, simply ask, “Alexa, what are your deals?” Here are some additional shopping commands.

Command: “Alexa, buy more [Amazon product].”

Command: “Alexa, order [Amazon product].”

Command: “Alexa, what is on my shopping list?”

Command: “Alexa, add [Amazon product] to my shopping list.”

Command: “Alexa, where’s my stuff?”

Advanced Smart Home Control

Amazon Alexa is great for providing information, keeping timers, playing and controlling media, but the real power and utility of Alexa shines when you start using it to control your smart home. Try these skills and associated commands to use Alexa to take control of your home. The link to the appropriate skill is included below.